(Denmark) Opinion: Obama in retreat

http://www.dw.de/opinion-obama-in-retreat/a-17669827

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US President Obama sought to counter foreign and security policy criticism with his speech at West Point. But doubts remain. The United States still hasn't yet found its role in a changed world, DW's Gero Schließ writes.

Opinion: Obama in retreat

You can see why a president might have a hard time understanding the world. He leads America out of two costly wars and resists the temptation to get the country involved in new military interventions - but at home and on the international stage he is met with bitter criticism. Domestic approval ratings are in the dumps, and it doesn't look good for his international credibility either.

Two-and-a-half years before the end of his presidency, Obama is increasingly going on the defensive. Not only American troops are in retreat - their commander in chief is as well.

With his speech to the cadets at United States Military Academy at West Point, he sought to change tack and awaken new confidence and trust among his allies. Alas, he did not achieve this. His speech was not a slam-dunk - it was neither emotional nor concrete enough. Many questions remain open with regard to his future foreign and security policy. The visibly tense president spent more time looking back than ahead.

As has been the case all too often at such moments, Obama acted out of self-defense. True, he did - as promised - end the war in Iraq; and by the end of his term, no noteworthy number of troops will remain stationed in Afghanistan. But at what price? Iraq is sinking into violence and chaos, and Afghanistan is threatened by the same fate.